The St. Johns Ambulance Hall
Location: Brunel Road, Hinckley
Date: 1977-1980
The St. Johns Ambulance Hall was possibly the grottiest place possible to hold a northern soul night, but believe me, it was probably one of the most sucessful Hinckley venues. Basically a two-room building, it functioned as a drill-hall, a dance class, an indoor market... you get the idea. The most significant attribute it had was a large, wood-block floor. Perfect!
The Hinckley Times
I remember the first night vividly. An advert had appeared in the local paper, The Hinckley Times, promoting a Motown and Northern Soul night, and the local soul fraternity had arrived in droves. I turned up with one of those little plastic record boxes that hold about 50 records (remember them?) and stood around the outside of the dance floor with about 100 other people listening to Motown standards.
This guy named Graham Evans appeared to be the organiser, so I (after being prompted by several of my mates) had a quick word, and before I knew it I was behind the decks with this other bloke named "Funky" Fred. I rummaged about in my box, dug out Bunny Sigler's "Girl, Don't Make Me Wait", stuck it on and... oh s**t! a full dance floor!
Pete Ankers behind the decks
After half an hour of northern standards, I handed the decks back to "Funky" Fred, and had a chat with this Graham chap. It turned out that he and "Funky" Fred ran a mobile disco called the Druids Roadshow, and they intended to make the St. Johns a regular venue. Did I want to help them out? You bet!
This was the beginning of the Hinckley Soul Club. Graham (ever the man with the eye for the main chance) drew up some membership cards, charged a few bob to join... the rest is history.
Badge
Just a quick word about the Hinckley Soul Club badge. The thing on the right above the fist is a hat... to be precise, a Tin Hat. Hinckley's nickname is "Tin Hat". The story is that years ago, the town used to host bare-knuckle fighting bouts, and people used to travel miles to see these here fights. The punters used to head for the Crown pub in Castle Street, which was the main coaching house in the town at the time. Opposite the Crown was an old hand pump, and an old galvanised bucket would often be left upside down on the top, for the watering of horses. After a good day's sport, and an even better night's drinking, a group of revellers were once heard to quip "I see they put tin hats on the pumps in Hinckley!". So now you know 😉.
Time to introduce a few other people whose contribution to the Hinckley Soul Club should be recognised.
Take for instance Pete Ankers. Pete is one of those guys who you cannot possibly dislike. Basically a nutter, Pete has always had the ability to make people laugh, but also has a consuming passion for northern soul. A regular DJ at the Hinckley Soul Club, Pete would always spin the crowd-pleasers, but was never afraid to experiment.
Neil "Nog" Doleman and Neil Kear hailed from Earl Shilton, about 4 miles down the road, and often shared a DJ spot. Nog became a commercial DJ who ran his own disco, and featured as a DJ in many northern functions locally, and often DJ'd at the all-nighters at Bubbles.
Ada (Chris Adamczyk) and Jock McReynolds were another inseparable pair. Ada was a bit of a legend in his own time, known across the country at the all-nighters. Not that you could miss him... Ada was an imposing sort of guy. Again, local favorites and DJs at many of the local all-nighters.
Horace (Brian Horobin) and Elaine, his wife, were the couple that held it all together.. from crisps to record bars, they did all the stuff that makes a venue successful.
Glen Bellamy and his mate Kitty were from Kettering. Glenn, a respected northen soul DJ, ran a record shop, and for some reason fell in love with the Hinckley Soul Club, regularly traveling over to Hinckley to DJ and flog his wares.
Paul Shaw is from Nuneaton, and a true collector, especially of English labels. Many a rarity was contributed by Paul, and lets face it, pressings and acetates are ok, but the real thing is something special.
visit to the Hinckley Soul Club
Brian Rae and Nev Wherry
And last, but by no means least, Mr. Brian Rae. Brian was a regular at our Friday nights, and to this day I am at a loss as to why he would DJ at our puny little venue, but he did.
And as if this wasn't enough, he persuaded other DJs to turn up as well, as this newspaper advert testifies.
The Hinckley Soul Club soon became so popular that one periodic soul night was not enough, so other northern nights were started to cope with the demand. The Local Venues menu lists them in cronological order.